Phantom Lighting System

Many home builders install rope lights for kitchen under cabinet lighting whenever a cost effective, indirect lighting source is needed in the kitchen. Generally speaking, this light is adequate for complimentary illumination of small, simple kitchens, but it does not provide the type of high-end low voltage lighting or lighting control necessary to light today’s more sophisticated, larger kitchen frequently found in a custom home. Most rope lights do not feature the specification grade required to truly optimize color rendering and light distribution over counter tops. Consequently, they not only burn out more quickly than linear lighting sources, in larger kitchens, they often create striations and accentuate wall variances, reflecting an uneven distribution of light.

Installing linear lighting strips under kitchen cabinets will correct this problem, provided that the fixture used resides under the front end of the cabinet and directs the forward throw light back and away from the eyes. This creates reflection off both the surface of the posterior wall beneath the cabinet and the surface of the counter top itself. When the under cabinet lights or inside cabinet lights installed are also dimmable, and the correct lamps are fitted to the fixture, the reflection diffuses as a “wash” of light that evenly covers visible surfaces without creating “white spots” or glare.

It is very important to consider overall aesthetic when replacing rope lights or fluorescent under cabinet lights and installing task lights in your kitchen. Larger linear light strips may be clearly visible to people seated at a nearby table who are looking into the kitchen from an angle. Install under cabinet lights in these places that will seamlessly blend into the under surface of the cabinet, or even better, completely hide themselves from open view.

Lamping options should be chosen next, and should be oriented toward complimenting the color and texture of the kitchen counter top. Custom kitchens in today’s larger homes frequently have marble or granite countertops, both of which can be enhanced with a near 3-dimensional appearance when illuminated with a linear light source installed underneath kitchen cabinets. The choice of lamps that you fit to these fixtures will depend upon the color of the cabinet itself. Cooler colors like white and off white look much better under an incandescent undercabinet kitchen light installed with a dimmable control. Phantom linear strips are ideal for this form of kitchen under cabinet lighting because feature smaller, concealed transformers that allow for end users to set the light at whatever level necessary.

Likewise, darker counter tops such as deep red granites and dark blue marble/white finishes look superb under a linear light source that produces a slightly warmer colour temperature. If the counter top you are lighting features dark reds or blue, or an almost “purple” look to the coloring, install kitchen fixtures that are fitted with xenon under cabinet lighting. This will generate a luxurious, slightly golden aura of light that gently penetrates the lighter colored areas of granite and marble and enriches the darker swirls of blue and deep red with an ornate touch.

Although both xenon and incandescent light sources consume a great deal of electricity, this can be offset by using Phantom low voltage lighting strips that minimize electrical consumption. Further savings can be generated by investing now in LED under cabinet kitchen lights. As new legislation requires that incandescent technology be replaced no later than 2010, it might be best to invest now instead of later in the world’s newest and most promising source of LED energy saving lighting or environmentally friendly LED custom cabinet lights.

Call a Phantom Agent for more information on all of these options. We invite you to call toll free 800-863-1184 to request literature online or visit our lighting blog to learn more about Phantom custom low voltage lighting products.

Our lighting manufacturing facility is located in Houston, Texas with professional lighting sales agents located throughout the United States that enable us to service all of Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America and the United States including Washington DC, Nashville Tennessee, Las Vegas Nevada. Portland Oregon, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Tucson Arizona, Los Angeles California, Atlanta Georgia, Dallas Texas and Sacramento California.

The first display light fixtures were made using fluorescent bulbs. They were highly valued for their ability to use less power than other forms of lighting, and also for their long, tubular design which gave them the ability to create an evenly distributed down light ideal for showcasing collectibles, merchandise, and various ornaments. However, there were two drawbacks to fluorescent lights. For one thing, they produced a flickering, slightly yellow-colored light that was annoyed one’s eyes and even produced headaches in some people. They also radiated ultraviolet light that damaged sensitive items such as certain dies, paints, and fabrics. Lighting manufacturers began to look into developing alternatives to fluorescent bulbs, and they eventually created a diversity of forms that ultimately produced even better cost effective lighting, minimized or outright eliminated ultraviolet light, and created a multitude of colour temperature options ideal for specialty lighting.

A few of the more popular types of display lighting fixtures are discussed in this article, with special attention paid to linear strip lights.

Puck Lights
Puck lights are often used as under cabinet lights and are not strictly classified as display light fixtures. However, xenon under cabinet lights, like puck lights do tend to be the most preferred light source in curio cabinets with mirrored back planes. Because a puck light occupies a central location at the top of the cabinet, the light radiates downward in an expanding cone. The mirror catches a portion of this light and throws it forward, thus magnifying its intensity and creating a field of light that fills the space inside the display.

Other types of cabinet lighting fixtures do not fare nearly as well in cabinets or showcases with mirrored back planes. This is because mirrors tend to reflect equipment as well as light, and the reflection of a metal or linear fixture can be an eyesore to an otherwise ornate showpiece.

Flex Lights
Flex lights are display lighting fixtures that mount on movable arms that can be positioned over the top of a display. They are frequently used by museums to light large displays that are not contained in a case. In fact, very large museum exhibition displays may have two or more flex lights positioned over the top as either a way of creating a central spotlighting effect using a slightly stronger, central flex light, or an even wash of light by using three identical fixtures in a row.

Flex lights are also used extensively in for trade show booth lighting. They can be attached rather quickly to walls and booths and angled toward banners, marketing materials, and merchandise to create a spotlight on your company brand, products, or services.

Recessed Lights
Recessed lights are used a great deal by museums to paintings and statuary. Recessed lighting fixtures offer the advantage of concealment, residing in the ceiling far above the display and casting a precisely aimed beam at the artwork. Halogen lamps are the favored light source for these unobtrusive display fixtures, provided proper glare shielding and dimmers are wired to the units to control brightness levels and heat.

Linear Lighting Strips
Linear LED strip lights combine almost every advantage of other forms of display lighting fixture, and they offer a few additional advantages found in no other light source. Linear strips are very thin and mount either to the topside of a cabinet, case top, or shelf, concealing themselves in much the same fashion as a recessed light. The tiny festoon lamps that line each strip emit a combined radiant down light reminiscent of yesteryear’s fluorescent bulbs, but with none of their negative effects.

Linear display light fixtures like those made by Phantom feature a high level of precision lighting ability. Sophisticated glare shields, color swatches and dimmer controls allow the Phantom light strip to be adjusted to optimal levels for virtually any type of shelf lighting or display case lighting application. Our patented method of shelf standard current conductance makes the Phantom linear strip even more unobtrusive than its counterpoints because it is a practically wireless device with the smallest magnetic low voltage transformer on the market. A variety of lamp types can be fitted to Phantom display lighting fixtures as well, including LED festoon lamps that use only 20% the electricity as other bulb types and produce no ultraviolet light whatsoever. This makes them ideal for retail display lighting and window display lighting because of the amazing power conservation they offer establishments on tight budgets.

One more thing makes the Phantom LED linear strip lights competitive with puck lights as both a display and under cabinet light fixture, and that is the special way the fixtures angle the light backward away from the eyes rather than into the viewer’s face. This creates a soft, very ambient quality of light more appropriate to both personal antique and bookshelf lighting and appropriate as well to high-end museum lighting for artifact and document display cases.

Phantom custom manufactures six lines of linear display lighting fixtures and distributes them through an international network of Agents that ranges from Canada to Argentina. Call us Toll-Free at 1-800-863-1184 today to be connected to an helpful lighting United States lighting agent free of charge to see which fixture type will work best with your particular display lighting needs.

We invite you to request literature online or visit our lighting blog to learn more about Phantom custom low voltage lighting products.

Our lighting manufacturing facility is located in Houston, Texas with professional lighting sales agents located throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including Washington DC, Nashville Tennessee, Reno Nevada. Portland Oregon, Oklahoma City Oklahoma, Phoenix Arizona, Los Angeles California, Atlanta Georgia, and Culver City California.

What is the most popular use for xenon linear lights?
The most popular use for these high-end fixtures is under cabinet lighting. Xenon’s ability to render both cool and warm colors equally well makes it ideal for lighting surfaces with more than complex color patterns. Incandescent lighting also has a high CRI (color rendering index) when it comes to lighting cool colors such as white or off white counter tops. However, for the deep blues and reds commonly seen in today’s marble and granite counter tops, a more robust source of lighting like that produced by xenon festoons is preferable. Both granite and marble are hard composite stones with multiple layers of vibrantly colored minerals embedded in their substance. Xenon linear strip lights produce light bright enough to clearly illuminate the many subtle shades and colors in the stone while at the same time adding something of a three-dimensional look to the counter top. By extending the “depth” of the stone’s surface, reflective glare is minimized, creating a more refined look appropriate to today’s larger, more elaborate custom kitchen and bathroom decor.

What do I need to look for when selecting fixtures?
It is important to keep certain considerations in mind when choosing xenon linear light fixtures. For one, find a fixture that offers not only advanced metal glare shielding, but also operates on low voltage with user-friendly dimmer controls. Especially when it comes to display cabinet lighting, dimmers are essential to adjusting the lighting levels in congruent balance with overhead kitchen lighting. Different occasions may call for different levels of light, and it will be necessary to turn the lights up and down to set the mood for different events and maintain to maintain symmetry and a sense of balanced aesthetic in the room.

But aren’t xenon linear light strips more expensive than fluorescent and incandescent lights?
Only in terms of front-end purchase cost. The return on investment they offer far outweighs the initial expenditure.

Are xenon linear lights only used for cabinet and under cabinet lighting?
Not necessarily.

While many manufacturers design xenon linear lights specifically for in cabinet and under cabinet lighting, Phantom strip lights are design for a multiplicity of applications and are capable of producing equally superior results in both commercial and residential applications. Phantom low voltage festoon lamps feature a special, patented design that conserves wattage and maximizes lumens output. This means they produce more light and consume less power, making them particularly cost effective for any commercial client on a budget.

The golden, ambient quality of xenon lighting works well to accentuate the rich colors of specialty fabric, fine jewelry, and even antique artifacts and rare documents in museum and public library displays.

On the home front, Phantom linear xenon festoons are a favorite choice among antique collectors with custom curio cabinets and ornate wooden display cases. They also make excellent bookshelf lights for the collector of special edition hardbacks and out of print books.

Phantom strip lights are designed as low-profile fixtures that blend so well into their surroundings that they are nearly invisible. For decorative and functional lighting needs, their unobtrusive presence allows for greater freedom of design, and their patented system of metal glare shields, wireless power transmission, and their fully dimmable power sourcing allow for any setting to be quickly made without risk of shock or damage to equipment.

Click here to request product literature, or click here to locate a sales representative in your area to choose which model will best meet your design requirements. We also invite you to visit our informative lighting blog. Contact us toll free at 800-863-1184.

What is xenon under cabinet lighting?
Xenon under cabinet lights is technically a form of incandescent lighting, although they are classified separately because they utilize a specific type of gas—xenon—to produce a superior level of light.

Xenon under cabinet lights have an uncanny ability to render color with exquisite detail. They bring out the richness and depth of warm colors, and they make for an ideal lamping option for any under cabinet lighting application that requires a blend of task and decorative appeal.

Xenon in cabinet lighting has become very popular due to the increasingly sophisticated detail we find in rooms that feature cabinets. The custom home industry has enlarged traditionally smaller and exclusively functional rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms into spacious, more heavily decorated areas.

Marble and granite counter tops have consequently become very popular, and nothing renders the depths of dark blues and reds underneath a cabinet quite like xenon light.

Are incandescent lights equally effective?
In some settings, they are. The key is the “warmth” of the color scheme.

Incandescents produce a steady distribution of very whit light and work very well when lighting cool color schemes such as white or off white counter tops. They are also very good for small kitchens and bathrooms

Don’t incandescents and xenons use a lot of electricity?
Not if they are configured on a low voltage strip lighting fixture.

Incandescent technology became very cost effective when low voltage transformers replaced the magnetic ballasts of previous fluorescent housings, rendering a 120V lamp a 12V power saving device.

Low voltage lighting systems can also help extend incandescent bulb type up to 7,500 hours, minimizing replacement costs as well as electrical costs.

Is halogen under cabinet lighting better than xenon?
It is not a question of better so much as it is a matter of what is appropriate to the environment. Halogens under cabinet lights, like xenon, are very powerful and produce very good color rendering.

They burn extremely hot, however, and they have a much shorter bulb life—only 2,000 hours maximum.

They work best in small, ornately decorated kitchens and bathrooms because they produce excellent decorative lighting that is also very bright. The lights are never on for very long, but when they are, they make wallpaper and decorations stand out and provide clear visibility for guests.

Do under cabinet lighting manufacturers still make fluorescent fixtures along with xenon, incandescent, and halogen?
Yes. Fluorescents will probably never completely disappear. They still have their place in the industrial world today, but over the years, newer and more efficient technologies have replaced them in more aesthetically conscious environments.

The greatest contribution fluorescents have made to under has been in terms of physical design. The original fluorescent task lights served as the prototype for today’s linear strip lights.

However, physically housing a transformer within the unit itself resulted in a bulkier unit that could only fit under the back of the cabinet and throw the light forward

The Latest and Greatest is found at Phantom
Over the years, low voltage strip lighting manufacturers such as Phantom developed technology that allowed them to remove the low voltage transformer from the unit housing to a concealed, remote location.

Under cabinet xenon, incandescent, and led strip lights can now be installed at the front of the cabinet, throwing the light backward away from the eyes and creating an evenly distributed “wash” of light over counter tops and appliances.

Phantom engineering completely conceals all visible wiring and creates the appearance of sourceless light.

Xenon low voltage under cabinet lighting strips by Phantom are some of the most advanced and streamlined accent lighting tools on today’s market. Custom-manufactured to exact cabinet dimensions, Phantom linear strips remain hidden from normal viewing angles and provide superior light distribution and glare reduction through patented lamping designs and glare shields found nowhere else in the world.

Call an Agent now at 1-800-863-1184 to learn more about Phantom under cabinet lighting with xenon, led, and incandescent in 12V and 24V configurations.